12 



HARDWICKE'S S C lEN CE-GOSS iP. 



liighly interesting. Tlie author contends that con- 

 tagium particles will differ in properties according 

 to. the kind of epithelial structure from which they 

 originally descended. These correspond to the 

 three great tracts into which the tissues may be 

 divided— the skin, the respiratory, and the digestive 

 mucous membranes ; and therefore we have the 

 three groups of zymotic diseases — epidemic, pul- 

 monary, and intestinal. The clear and spirited 

 style in which this book is written is a great advan- 

 tage to the reader, to whom we can conscientiously 

 recommend it as a genuine treat. 



^C;fe 



Fig. 12. Proboscis Moukey. 



Fig. 13. Chameck Spider Monkey. 



It was indeed "a happy thought" to conceive 

 the idea of giving to the world a complete library of 

 scientific books on every department of modern 

 science, each to be written by the most distinguished 

 writers on the several subjects, English and foreign. 



This "International Series," as they are fitly 

 termed, is now in due course of publication. The 

 two volumes on our list are good examples of the 

 nature of these productions. They are handsomely 

 and attractively got up, so as to make one's library 

 look a trifle more cheerful than hitherto. Who 

 could better write on the physiological and psycho- 

 logical relations of mind and body than Professor 

 Bain ? Or at whose hands could we expect a more 

 thorough and exhaustive knowledge of the " Con- 

 servation of Energy" than from those of Balfour 

 Stewart, the popular Professor of Owen's College, 

 Manchester ? These works possess the 

 rare value of being strictly popular and 

 strictly scientific, and indicate that such a 

 combination is not impossible. The limits 

 of space forbid us to do more thmi to 

 bring this series before the notice of our 

 readers with our strongest recommenda- 

 tions. 



Those who read Mr. Mivart's articles in 

 the pages of the Popular Science Review^ 

 on " Man and Apes," will be pleased to 

 see them appear in the handsome volume 

 form in which the publisher has now issued 

 them. The articles have been consider- 

 ably enlarged, and fully illustrated. Mr. 

 Mivart, as the author of that charming 

 work, the " Genesis of Species," will 

 always obtain a hearing, not only from 

 scientific men proper, but also from those 

 who do not profess to be scientific, and 

 yet who are deeply interested in the lead- 

 ing theories and discussions of the day. 

 The present volume is especially valu- 

 able to students as containing by far the 

 fullest and completest comparison of man 

 with the Quadrumana that has yet ap- 

 peared. It has been the custom to com- 

 pare the human fiame with what was 

 considered the highest member of the ape 

 family, but Mr. Mivart clearly shows the 

 fallacy of such a method. Of all the 

 monkey tribe, the Gorilla is believed to 

 be that most nearly approaching man in 

 its structural peculiarities — to be, in 

 short, the veritable "missing link." Al- 

 though Mr. Mivart seems inclined to 

 grant the generally high zoological posi- 

 tion of the Gorilla, he argues that the 

 nearest approaches in structural pecu- 

 liarities to man's frame are not to be 

 found in any particular species, but are 

 scattered throughout {the entire series of Quadru- 

 mana, not even excepting the half-apes. After devot- 

 ing some space to the zoological position of the Gorilla, 

 the author proceeds to notice the various degrees of 

 resemblance to man which the different kinds of 



